Heat passes on spending big in 2nd round, fills summer league roster with free agents
Why did the Heat not use its available $3.1 million allowance to buy a second-round pick in Thursday’s draft?
“Why? For $3.5 million? You’re dropping $3.5 million on the 50th pick? Let’s get real here,” Heat president Pat Riley responded early Friday morning, less than an hour after the draft had been completed.
Riley, 72, was clearly bothered by the demands some teams had when selling second-round picks. The Golden State Warriors paid $3.5 million for a second-rounder on Thursday. Riley called the offers the Heat received from other teams “sort of ridiculous.”
“So we took the next step, which is to go to free agency and to build from there,” Riley said. “And then through the summer league, try to be the first out of the box on some of these guys and develop a program. We feel good where we are with our roster.”
Having used its only draft pick on a power-rotation player, the Heat loaded up on wing prospects in the hours following Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Among those added to the Heat’s Summer League roster that will play games in Orlando and Las Vegas, according to various reports:
▪ BYU 6-10 forward Eric Mika, who averaged 20.3 points and 9.2 rebounds last season while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. NBA Draft Experess rated Mika the 82nd-best prospect available. He’s the highest rated among the Heat’s non-drafted summer league players.
▪ Virginia 6-2 point guard London Perrantes, who averaged 12.7 points and 3.8 assists as a senior while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 37.4 percent on threes (65 for 147). Considered a pesky defender. And he was exceptional on three-pointers as junior, shooting 48.8 percent (78 for 160).
▪ Colorado State 6-4 guard Gian Clavell. The Hialeah Gardens product, who led the Gladiators to a state title in 2012, averaged 20.4 points and 6.3 rebounds last season for the Rams and was named Mountain West Player of the Year. He shot 43 percent from the field and 38.6 percent on threes (78 for 202).
▪ Michigan 6-6 guard/small forward Zak Irvin. Averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 34.4 percent on threes (54 for 147). Aggressive defender and third in three-pointers in Michigan history.
▪ Pittsburgh 6-9 forward Jamel Artis. Averaged 18.2 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 39.2 percent on threes (74 for 189) last season.
▪ Monmouth 5-8 guard Justin Robinson. The diminutive point guard was a two-time MAAC Player of the Year and averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals last season, while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 40.3 percent on threes (96 for 238).
▪ UCF 6-5 guard Matt Williams. Averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. Shot just 39.1 percent from the field and never shot 40 percent or better in any of his four seasons at UCF. He was 38.4 percent on threes last season (126 for 328).
▪ Mississippi 6-9 forward Sabastian Saiz, who averaged 15.1 points and 11.4 rebounds last season while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 28.8 percent on threes (21 for 73).
▪ Kentucky 6-9 forward Derek Willis, who averaged 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 37.7 percent on threes (49 for 130).
The Heat has also reportedly added two players who played overseas to its summer-league teams: former Notre Dame center Zach Auguste, who went undrafted in 2016, and center Norvel Pelle, who went undrafted in 2013 after not attending college and has bounced around foreign leagues and the D-League.
This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Heat passes on spending big in 2nd round, fills summer league roster with free agents."